FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT YOUTH DAY - PAGE 5

Hungry and poor citizens looked to Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro and his exclusive advisory council for 15,000 free turkey dinners last weekend. But when the feast was over, those who joined in owed some of their thanks to Broward County`s taxpayers, who are unwittingly paying part of the price of the sheriff`s generosity. Many of Navarro`s charity and promotional events are paid for, at least in part, with tax dollars. Groups sponsoring the events buy food and provide some volunteers; sheriff`s employees take care of the catering.

Rodney Dangerfield`s joke goes something like this: "Let me tell you, my wife is ugly. Boy, is she ugly." "How ugly is she?" Dangerfield`s audience replies in unison. The punchline: "She`s so ugly, when you look up the word ugly in the dictionary, it has her picture." With all due respect to Mr. Dangerfield, his wife won`t be allowed to enter the Miss Ugly Oakland Park Contest at Youth Day on Saturday. No women will be. The event is strictly for men. You guessed it. Several macho-looking males with 5 o`clock shadows and hairy legs will slip on women`s clothes for a few laughs.

HALLANDALE -- Trainer Scotty Schulhofer ignited a bit of interest last week, and the only thing he had to do was strap a saddle on a 3-year-old colt named Kerosene. Before Dixieland Brass solidified himself as the favorite for next week`s Florida Derby with a victory in the Fountain of Youth, the public had the opportunity to peek into the future at a possible star in Mike Rutherford`s Kerosene. In his third career start, his second under Schulhofer, Kerosene went wire- to-wire over 1 1/16 miles to easily beat an allowance field at Gulfstream Park by 11 lengths.

The city's annual Youth Day parade is open to anyone interested in entering a decorated car or float. "All entries from floats to decorated vehicles are welcomed and encouraged," said Susan Schulz, the city's recreation superintendent. Oakland Park's 37th Youth Day, an annual fair with games, rides and demonstrations, will be held on Saturday, March 26. For more parade entry information, call 561-6264.

OAKLAND PARK -- The city will hold its 34th annual Youth Day on Saturday on the athletic fields behind the Collins Community Center. The theme for this year`s festivities is "Memories." Youth Day organizers, however, don`t want to be reminded about their memories from last year`s event. It rained. "It put a damper on it," said recreation Superintendent Susan Schulz. "We usually average about 15,000 people barring rain like we had last year." Youth Day starts at 10 a.m. with a parade of city officials, employees, fire trucks, floats and several community organizations.

OAKLAND PARK -- In a mystery spurred by competition, nobody sponsoring a float in Saturday`s Youth Day parade wants to talk about their entry. About 80 floats -- the labor-intensive creations of Oakland Park civic organizations and schools -- will vie for prizes in this year`s parade. "Everybody`s pretty competitive in Oakland Park," said recreation superintendent Susan Schulz. "Everybody is kind of working to keep it quiet." For weeks, city employees have labored on the their float, which follows this year`s theme, the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the New World.

OAKLAND PARK The city will sponsor its 44th annual Youth Day on March 24 at Wimberly Field, 4001 NE Fifth Ave. The event is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and will feature a parade, craft fair, Little Miss Oakland Park contest, games and food. Call 954-561-6264. FORT LAUDERDALE Bond money sought to improve city parks The City Commission has chosen projects it hopes will win county funding. The money would come from a $400 million Broward County parks bond approved by voters in November.

Looking for an easy way to get kids involved in the outdoors? One of the easiest is to bring them to the Florida Sportsmen's Conservation Association Outdoor Youth Day. The second annual event is Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Everglades Youth Camp at the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area. Kids can try out and receive hands-on instruction in a variety of outdoor pursuits. Among those activities is fishing, archery, canoeing, a turkey shoot and a .22-caliber rifle shoot. There also will be swamp buggy rides, airboat and muzzleloader demonstrations, pony rides, a wildlife show, a K-9 dog show, a casting contest and conservation exhibits.

The young mayor banged the gavel and grinned. "Ha, ha!" she exclaimed with a grin, "I just love doing that!" Mayor Tina Tessier and more than three dozen of her classmates discovered what they did - and didn`t - like about the way the city was run Tuesday, when they took over. The delegates to the city`s annual American Legion-sponsored Youth Day overwhelmingly agreed the real city manager, Ken Nipper, needs an assistant. "I noticed you have a lot to do," Scott Zappolo, Nipper`s student counterpart, told Nipper as student city commissioners were preparing for their formal meeting.